Inside the Investigation: Is a musician's payout worth the prestige of playing SXSW?
AUSTIN (KXAN) — While SXSW claims to pump hundreds of millions into Austin's economy each year, A KXAN investigation found a striking gap between the event's financial impact and the paychecks of those who help make it happen. This week on Inside the Investigation, Digital Reporter Abigail Jones explains the movement to increase pay for SX musicians.SXSW Musician Pay Highlights Industry Struggle
'People can die of exposure.' Is musician payout worth the prestige of playing SXSW?
'Totally different beast.' Austin musicians worry about the industry amid SXSW changes
Creativity 'the North Star' of SXSW, but some Austin musicians feel eclipsed during event
Join KXAN Investigative Reporter Kelly Wiley every Friday at 10:30 a.m. on YouTube, Facebook, or KXAN.com for a live recap of the latest headlines and in-depth reporting from the KXAN Investigates team.
You can also listen to KXAN's investigative podcast, highlighting some of our award-winning team's latest reports exposing corruption, safety concerns, and system failures across Texas. We also feature audio versions of our weekly 'Inside the Investigation' discussion with the journalists working on those stories.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Zawe Ashton expecting second child with fiancé Tom Hiddleston
Zawe Ashton is expecting her second child with fiancé Tom Hiddleston. The 40-year-old actress shared the news with Vogue on Saturday (07.06.25), alongside a maternity photoshoot in which she appears in a pale blue Emilia Wickstead gown with a matching cape. Zawe confirmed she would debut her baby bump later this weekend at the SXSW festival, saying of her red carpet look: 'I feel really lucky to be working with someone that I know and who's been such a champion of me at this sensitive red-carpet dressing moment. 'I feel like I'll be very held on an evening where, as an expectant mother, you can feel a little bit exposed.' Zawe and Tom, who have been engaged since 2022, welcomed their first child together later that same year. She and the 44-year-old have not publicly disclosed their child's name or gender. Zawe, who has been a long-time admirer of Wickstead's work, also told Vogue: 'We met years ago at the British Fashion Awards when she dressed me and we attended together. 'We had the most fabulous night and instantly felt like kindred spirits. We aligned so much on fashion and womanhood, and I've always loved her designs. They embody a seamless blend of classic and contemporary, and she's also just an incredible craftsperson. 'You feel the level of detail that goes into every piece when you wear them.' Emilia Wickstead, 42, who designed the maternity gown Ashton will wear at SXSW, described the commission as 'especially meaningful and full circle'. 'Zawe wore a soft pink gown from us during her last pregnancy — quietly glowing, with a little secret only she knew,' Wickstead said. She added: 'Now, to celebrate her second in this beautiful blue from our pre-fall collection, and to share it with the world, feels like a sweet continuation of that story. I'm so honoured to be part of it. 'Zawe is also such a vibrant, clever and special friend and muse of the brand — she's been wearing Emilia Wickstead for years, and I love being part of her journey.' A source told Us Weekly following the birth of Zawe and Tom's first child they 'are loving being new parents and are filled with joy'. They added the pair 'have been having the struggles of new parents and aren't sleeping much but are thrilled'. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in November 2023, Tom said fatherhood had changed his outlook on life. He added: 'I think I probably knew it would, but I could never have imagined how deeply it would until it happened,' he said. 'And yeah, it's before and after.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fresno State professor has 2M Instagram followers. His content? 1,700 science toys
Every room in Ray Hall's home features some kind of science toy. Some of the Fresno State physics professor's vast array of toys are simple, like tippy tops that, when spun, suddenly flip to spin on their narrow stems. Others are more complex, like Tesla coils that generate lightning-like electrical currents. Hall's vast array of toys aren't only used in the classroom — they're the star attraction of one of Instagram's most popular science accounts. In his account @physicsfun, Hall shares demonstrations of these toys and explains the physics behind them to an audience of over 2 million followers. 'My goal is to get these toys into the hands of people because it's one thing to watch me manipulate them. But if they're excited enough to buy it and show it to their kids, show it to their friends. That's when the joy of physics starts to spread,' Hall said. Hall has over 1,700 physics toys. Some are less than $10 and others are worth several hundred dollars. Each of Hall's Instagram videos includes a caption linking to sources for further information. The videos follow a consistent formula: they're short and simple, with the toy clearly taking center stage. They demonstrate concepts like chaos theory, gyroscopic stability and magnetic levitation. 'Almost all of my Instagram videos, especially the ones I'm most proud of, make people go, 'What? That's how it works?'' Hall said. 'They get people more invested in science.' Hall also has a YouTube channel with 610,000 followers that he monetizes as well as a Facebook page with 731,000 followers. 'Everything I try to show on Instagram has that little element of surprise like you weren't expecting for that to necessarily happen,' Hall said. 'I also try to make my videos so that they're not overproduced. It's always my hands and I don't really talk to the camera. Hall first decided to share his toys on Instagram in 2015 after his stepdaughter posted a video of one of his tippy tops and it received a lot of likes from her high school friends. But his Instagram account only started growing significantly after his videos went viral on Reddit from 2016 to 2017. His following grew from 6,000 followers to 20,000 in three days. He reached 1 million followers by 2017. 'The biggest key to success on Instagram is continuity and that means having a daily post,' he said. 'YouTube is a different beast. I have someone who mashes up my videos and posts them for me because I just don't have the time.' Hall added that what motivates him to keep making videos is to keep trying to get more people curious about the world around them. 'It's more so a cheerleading to get them to think more deeply and go pursue further content,' he said. Hall's interest in physics dates back to his childhood. He grew up watching science documentaries and visiting museums like the Exploratorium in San Francisco. He recalls spending time with his father who worked for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and loved being in his tool shed. 'My dad was a jack of all trades, his garage was full of tools and he was always fixing stuff. I would hang around with him and he would explain to me how things worked,' Hall said. 'And physics I think is kind of the ultimate 'how do things work', so it appealed to me.' A first-generation college student, Hall studied physics at Fresno State, earning his bachelor's degree in 1988 and his doctorate from UC Riverside in 1994. His research focused on high energy particle physics. It was around that time that he came across some physics toys at a shop in Occidental and started collecting them. 'Back when I was a grad student, I did have some teaching responsibilities,' Hall said. 'So it hit me when I was at that shop that sold kites and other toys that I could really teach physics with them.' After grad school, Hall got a job at Fresno State and has been a physics professor at the university since 1999. He teaches physics along with critical thinking classes for students who aren't planning to pursue careers as scientists. 'My passion now is trying to convince people that science is a lot more interesting than pseudo science. There's a lot of awful belief in things, like that the Earth is flat, and people that take it seriously. That concerns me,' he said. 'It seems like there's a fundamental misunderstanding on what science is trying to do.' As for the future of his social media content, Hall said he may explore new formats — possibly videos where he speaks directly to the camera. He also plans to keep searching for new physics toys. 'I'm taking everything one day at a time and I'm not looking to stop,' he said.
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Bill Maher mocks Dems for trying to find ‘their Joe Rogan,' suggests figuring out how they lost him
'Real Time' host Bill Maher mocked the Democratic Party's attempt to find 'their Joe Rogan,' pointing out the irony that the podcaster had leaned left until he became disillusioned with the party. The host explained, 'One idea that's getting a lot of attention is the Dems need to find their Joe Rogan, a liberal Joe Rogan.' Maher argued that rather than 'conjuring up a new Joe Rogan,' Democrats should be asking themselves how they lost him in the first place. Advertisement Rogan previously endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., in the 2020 election. It wasn't until 2024 that Rogan publicly endorsed President Donald Trump. The 'Real Time' host lampooned the idea that the real reason why former Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election is because 'Republicans have a podcast.' 'Okay, maybe. Or, you could consider this,' Maher jeered. 'Instead of conjuring up a new Joe Rogan, ask yourself why you lost the old one, because he used to be on your side.' In 2024, regarding the Democratic desire to find its own Rogan, the podcaster said, 'They had me.' 'I was on their side,' he added. Advertisement Maher noted that he's watched the political evolution of both Rogan and Musk and their party affiliations didn't switch 'overnight.' Youtube/Real Time with Bill Maher Maher compared Rogan's political transformation to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was also a liberal who ended up being 'driven to the other camp by bad attitudes and bad ideas.' Maher noted that he's watched the political evolution of both Rogan and Musk and their party affiliations didn't switch 'overnight.' Maher referenced a 2022 post on then-Twitter from Elon Musk in which he shared a chart depicting his feeling that the Democratic Party had moved too far to the left for him, rather than his ideology moving to the right. Advertisement Rogan previously endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., in the 2020 election. Rogan said that Democrats have moved so far that it 'left a basically liberal centrist like him — now labeled a conservative,' adding that he related to Musk's post. Maher also highlighted attempts by the left to cancel Rogan and Musk as a key reason they abandoned the party. Advertisement 'They tried real hard to cancel Rogan a few years ago — and when Elon hosted 'Saturday Night Live' in 2021, well before he was a Trumper — some of the cast gave him the cold shoulder for the sin of being rich,' he recalled. 'You think people don't remember when you do this s— to them?' The late-night host asserted that while he's never left the party, Democrats need to work hard to get 'all the guys in America like Joe and Elon' back on their side, but assured them that it's still possible.
